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Yorick Alkesman
Yorick Alkesman was the fourth Council Premier of Daravia. He was first elected in 222 DR, and served a full spate of four terms. Early life Yorick Alkesman was born in 187 DR, as the heir to the lordship of Boargove. The Alkesman line was a major supporter of the Manitac Uprising, as they resented losing the duchy of Danque under Grandelburg rule. Yorick's father, Terrence Alkesman, tried unsuccessfully to be restored to Danque; Yorick himself, by contrast, decided to seek parliamentary power to achieve his goals. Yorick first ran for office in 212, where his promise of bringing power to the parliament held wide appeal; in his era, the parliament was seen as an opportunity for social mobility. Yorick won a Danque representative seat by a wide margin; he was favored for his domestic policies, but he took no public stance on colonialism, which hurt his early ambitions. Premiership Yorick made a bid for the Council Premiership in 217, but in an election where the settling of Rubinau was a key issue, Yorick's neutrality failed to impress. He then retained his council seat for the 217–22 term, where he began implementing legislation to further his agenda. To this end, the most notable law Yorick backed was the Parliamentary Estate Act, a 219 piece of legislation that granted parliamentary councilmen land both in Castleton and in their home province. Yorick's suite of laws made him a favorite among his fellow councilmen, and so he had a wide base of support when he ran again for Council Premier in 222. Yorick especially sought to cultivate an image of his opponent, Jed Greyrock, as an inactive leader who would weaken parliamentary power; this strategy paid off, and Yorick won the premiership. Yorick's first term as Council Premier was a successful one; with strong parliamentary and monarchical support, Yorick was able to codify a number of political privileges to the councilmen. These included increased stipends and an exemption on import tariffs. Yorick won another sweeping victory in 227, but in the ensuing term, complications arose: a Greyrock-led faction began growing in the parliament, agitating for aiding the commoners and the Cadral populace. As many lowborn citizens had entered the parliament, Greyrock's party split the councilmen, and so the Greyrockist Ernest Streetbrick poses a serious challenge in the 232 election— however, the death of King Gerald II panicked the electorate, who reelected Yorick in an attempt to preserve the status quo. The 232–37 term saw the tension in the parliament reach a crescendo, as the Greyrockists maintained that they should have won the election; Yorick made a token effort to mediate the conflict, but his own biases were no secret. Yorick also saw himself entering a personal feud with the Greyrock brothers, Jed and Edmund; when Edmund Greyrock ran for the premiership in 237, the hostility of their debates was infamous. Edmund was eventually forced to drop out of the 237 election after a would-be assassin blinded him; Yorick was widely suspected, but maintained his innocence and launched a lengthy investigation into the attack. The investigation renewed popular confidence in Yorick's integrity, while Edmund's withdrawal decentralized the opposition— thus, Yorick was elected to a fourth term. The 237–42 term was a peaceable one, as Alkesmanists and Greyrockists alike recognized that Yorick would be leaving the parliament after his term concluded. Both sides made efforts at peacemaking and cooperation, while Yorick covertly worked to select a successor. It proved to be Norman Bulric, a middling statesman from the province of Capria, who Yorick supported in 242; however, Yorick's support was not enough, and Bulric lost to Jed Greyrock. After his retirement, Yorick returned to Boargove. He started writing a political theory text, called Aeduces Conaventi (Lessons of a Councilman), but died in 244 with the work incomplete. Personal life Yorick wedded Leona Crackstone, from a family of artisans, in 210; as part of Yorick's mission to build an aristocrat-esque parliament, he made a point of frequently attending social functions with Leona on his arm, and in general sought to portray the two of them as a high-society couple. Leona appeared to enjoy this attention, and the two were close until Leona's death in 238. Yorick and Leona had three children, none of whom entered the public spotlight. Category:Daravians Category:Elected Officials Category:Parliament Heads